In these late works—painted in the final decade of his career—Bayer moved away from earlier formulas and rational structures, and allowed fantasy, intuition, and imagination to reign. The paintings re-examine his previous themes, including geologic and atmospheric forces, nature and the cosmos, and symbols such as letters and gates.

“As in writing, where the essence is often to be found between the words, the meaning in these paintings is found beyond the images,” said Bayer.